Starter Describe characteristics of…. Secure attachment Insecure-avoidant attachment Insecure-resistant attachment

What are the key terms? Insecure resistant Securley attached Insecure avoidant Keen to explore High stranger anxiety, Enthusiastc to retunr to care giver Carevier sensitive to infants needs Unwilling to explore High stranger anxiety Reject upon reunion Caregiver mixed feelings to infants needs and behaviours Willing to explore Low stranger anxiety Unconcerned with separation Caregiver no interest to infant needs

According to Bowlby, attachments are adaptive Do you agree? Other than food, do attachments have an evolutionary advantage? Help us survive!

Belsky (1999) suggests… YES! Insecure attachment types are associated with early sexual activity and weak adult relationships While these may appear undesirable, they are useful in certain situations For example; After plague or famine Reproduce young No emotional attachment with those who may die young

Behaviours which help you survive will dominate

If Bowlby is correct that attachments have an evolutionary advantage, patterns of attachment should be similar across cultures Regardless of cultural differences in values and child rearing styles

Cultural variation Refers to the differences in social behaviors that different cultures exhibit around the world Can you think of any?

Two main types of cultures Individualist cultures  Value independence, working to their own individual goals e.g. USA and Europe (Western Cultures)

Two main types of cultures Collectivist cultures  Value cooperation, working towards the family or group goals e.g. Japan and Israel (Eastern Cultures)

Van Ijzendoorn & Kroonenberg (1988) Wanted to look at attachment styles and culture

Aim: To investigate the types of attachment across cultures and to see how the three main attachment styles applied To investigate if attachment styles are the same across cultures or culturally specific

Procedure Did not conduct their own study They conducted a meta-analysis Analysed data from other studies 32 studies using Strange Situation across 8 different countries

Calculated average percentage for different attachment styles in each country Can you see any trends??

Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg found: Secure attachment was most common across all cultures What does this tell us? Attachment styles may have evolutionary advantage as regardless of culture it dominates Lowest percentage of secure attachments was shown in China Highest in Great Britain

Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg found: Rates of insecure-resistant were similar to Ainsworth study (all under 14%) in individualist culture However, not for collectivist cultures (China, Japan and Israel rates were above 25%) Suggests cultural differences

Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg found: Germany have high levels of anxious avoidant In Germany this style is associated with independence… cultural influence

Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg found: Differences found between samples from one country In one US sample, there was 94% insecure- avoidant attachments, whereas in another US sample there was 47%

What conclusions can be drawn? There are similarities across cultures There are more differences within cultures (intra-cultural) than between different cultrues (inter-cultural)

Evaluation Large sample of nearly 200 babies and primary attachment figure This increases internal validity

However, There lacks studies from African and South American samples. These would be required before a universal conclusion can be drawn

Meta-analysis… reliable? Evaluation Meta-analysis… reliable?

Evaluation The samples may not be representative of cultures The meta-analysis compares between countries, not cultures This means comparisons between countries (Italy vs Korea) may have little meaning

Evaluation Cross-cultural studies can suffer from an imposed etic Where the researchers analyse findings in a biased manner of their own cultural beliefs, and wrongly impose culturally specific beliefs onto another Validity?

Simonelli et al. 2014 (Italian study) Researchers assessed 76 12-month olds using Strange Situation Wanted to see whether proportion of attachment types matched previous studies in Italy

Simonelli et al. 2014 (Italian study) Researchers found; 50% were secure 36% were insecure-avoidant This was a lower rate of secure attachment than found in previous studies

Simonelli et al. 2014 (Italian study) The researchers suggested this was due to the increasing numbers of mothers working long hours and using professional childcare Cultural changes can make a dramatic difference in patterns of attachment

Differences within cultures… Person 1: Kyoung (2005) Person 2: Grossman & Grossman (1991) Person 3: Malin (1997) Page 136 Black mask Name and year What they found? What does this mean in terms of attachment types and culture?